Das Tabu und die Ambivalenz der Gefühlsregungen Über einige Übereinstimmungen im Seelenleben der Wilden und der Neurotiker II

Freud opens by exploring the word ‘taboo,’ a Polynesian term that once meant both sacred and forbidden. He shows that similar concepts appear among the Romans, Greeks, Hebrews, and many other cultures, suggesting that taboo is humanity’s oldest unwritten law, predating organized religion. By blending anthropology with early psychoanalysis, he prepares a comparison of how societies enforce invisible boundaries.

He then turns to the ambivalence that taboo creates, a tug between fascination and repulsion felt by both remote ‘wild’ peoples and the neurotic patients of his Viennese practice. Freud lists the practical functions of taboos—protecting leaders, children, sacred objects, and the unborn—while noting that the inner sense of guilt often arises without any explicit divine command. The discussion invites listeners to consider how today’s conflicting feelings may echo these ancient psychic safeguards.